(Image credit: Future)
Meta has launched Muse, a new personal AI agent designed to work across the apps and services you already use. Unlike a chatbot that gives you an answer and waits for another prompt, Muse can open a browser, fill out forms, send emails, book travel, make purchases and continue working on a task after you close the app.You can even give it a bigger goal and let it figure out the steps required to get there, which makes Muse one of the clearest examples of where consumer AI appears to be headed.But there’s an obvious tradeoff: For Muse to become genuinely useful, you have to give it access to a remarkable amount of your digital life.Muse isn't just another chatbotMeta describes Muse as a “personal AI agent,” which is similar to what we've seen from Gemini and ChatGPT recently. Like the AI agents from Meta competitor's Muse is designed to do more.According to Meta, the agent can open websites, fill out forms and negotiate on your behalf. It can book travel, send emails and make purchases, checking back with you when it needs approval for certain actions.It can also keep working after you close the app, which opens the door for much longer-running tasks. This could include tasks such as trying to lower a bill, adapting a training plan when your schedule changes or even selling a car, according to Meta's examples in the company press release.Muse can also remember information you've previously shared and use it later. Meta says it could notice a recipe Reel you saved on Instagram, turn it into a grocery list and remember your friends' dietary restrictions when helping organize a dinner party.Sign up to the Tom's AI Guide weekly newsletter summing up all the biggest AI news you need to know. Plus, analysis from our AI editors and tips on how to use the latest AI tools!In other words, the goal isn't necessarily for you to keep prompting Muse. It's for Muse to learn enough about your life that it can start anticipating what you might need.It can spend money for you One of the biggest differences between an AI assistant and an AI agent is what happens when money gets involved. Muse can make purchases using Stripe's Link payment system. Instead of giving the agent your actual card number, Link generates a one-time-use card for the transaction.Meta says Muse is also the first AI agent covered by Link's purchase protections, which can include things such as no-fee returns and protection for eligible lost or damaged items.Shop Pay support is expected to arrive later, while Meta says integration with 1Password is also coming so Muse can use credentials stored in a user's password manager.That could make tasks such as shopping considerably more convenient. It also raises the stakes considerably if an agent misunderstands what you asked it to do.
